Both political camps plan giant rallies this weekend

By Jewel Huang / STAFF REPORTER

The streets of Taipei City will be swarming with supporters of the pan-blue and pan-green camps this weekend, as both political alliances plan to launch massive marches to incite voters' passions to fever pitch one week before election day.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will launch a massive parade in Taipei City on Saturday to boost its momentum in the legislative elections campaign. The rally is expected to attract at least 100,000 participants, DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said yesterday in a news conference announcing the details of the march.

Lee said that the march on Saturday will aim to continue using the theme of the overwhelmingly successful "228 Hand-in-Hand Rally" held on Feb. 28, which attracted at least 2 million people to protest China's threats and promote Taiwan's desire for peace.

"The Dec. 4 march will feature the theme `taking care of Taiwan, resisting China, obtaining peace and winning happiness.' We will not appeal to sadness or divisive issues. What we want to express in the march is our faith in hope and reform," Lee said.

"We will stress that the pan-greens have the mission of terminating the chaotic legislature and the one-party state," the deputy secretary-general said.

The procession will begin at the Sungshan Tobacco Factory (松山菸廠) and end in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard (凱達格蘭大道).

Also, president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) will appear onstage together at a campaign rally held in Kaohisung on that day as the climax of the day's activities, Lee said.

Meanwhile, pro-independence groups and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday announced they would hold a parade on Dec. 5 in Taipei City to promote a new constitution and rectifying the country's official name, as well as to boost their legislative elections campaigns.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is also planning a large-scale march in Taipei on the same day, in order to consolidate its voter support.

The KMT is planning to have over 100,000 people march from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to the legislature to symbolize the KMT's election slogan: "Only by taking the right road, will Taiwan have a way out."